Flathead Lake, MT

Since you haven't heard from us in a while (we KNOW that has really been disconcerting!), we'll catch you up:

We left Salmon, ID for Wisdom, MT. We were very excited, because the RV park in Wisdom was supposed to be a gorgeous, small place on the Big Hole River. We had tagged the Big Hole as one of our key destinations due to the beauty of the valley and great fishing. When we got there and drove through, the reality was that it was on a stagnant pond, and the river was low, mossy and unfishable. (We'd post a picture, but there was nothing to shoot.)

So we motored on; a gorgeous drive, ending up in Garrison, MT. We stayed in a lovely park, Riverfront RV Park, run by Bernie and Sharon, Christians who feel that God gifted them this place. It was peaceful and quiet and beautifully maintained. We were close to Jack's favorite fishing spot of all time - the upper section of Rock Creek - and we spent a fantastic day up there. Caught lots of fish (rainbows, cutthroat, browns, maybe even a bull trout, but I can't be sure).

Upper Rock Creek, Montana

Mandy was hysterical! Despite her labrador heritage, she hates getting her feet wet, let alone crossing streams. This makes it really tough for her because she loves being with us. Being the responsible parents we are, we ended up CARRYING her across the creek a couple of times.

She also discovered the magic of Pronghorn antelopes.  We were getting our fishing gear ready, and Mandy was waiting for us, wandering around sniffing.  Suddenly, a large group of Pronghorns came towards us across the pasture, elevated themselves over the barb wire fence, and landed directly in front of Mandy.  They each took a couple of hops and sprinted straight up the cliffs on the other side of the road.  Mandy was excited, but never seemed to figure out where they came from, or where they disappeared to.  It must have seemed to her that they dropped out of the sky, and vaporized into the air.
Her confused look was priceless.

The next day we went 60 miles up the road to Missoula for an overnight at Jim & Mary's RV Park. We stayed here last year in our little trailer and loved it. Mary loves growing flowers, and they are EVERYWHERE!

Since most of our trip has been very trouble-free, this is worth mentioning: The scenery was so spectacular, Stacy wanted to take a picture (see above), so I pulled off without regard for the fact that you can't turn around a 30-foot trailer on a narrow two-lane road. Brilliantly, I decided we could loop through the native cemetery that was there.

Well, 3/4 of the way through we encountered a low hanging branch that we had failed to notice before entering. We had two options: (1) drive over several graves, or (2) back all the way out. Choosing the latter, and thanks to the woman enjoying lunch at her late husband's graveside, 30 minutes later we were on the road again.

We are in Polson, Montana. Despite its rather blah name, this is a spectacularly beautiful place. We are in the Eagle's Nest RV Park. We were assigned an out of the way "overflow" site that, despite really abysmal wifi and no cable TV, is so much nicer and more private than the "premium" spots. Couldn't be nicer.

After two weeks of eating in, we decided to have a nice dinner out. The Finley Point Grill and Bar was incredible.

Here's our campsite:

Oh, one thing I failed to mention is that Polson, MT is home to the "Miracle of America Museum", the self-proclaimed Smithsonian of the West. We'll report on it tomorrow. (With all the anticipation, I hope you can sleep!)

Cheerio,
Jack and Stacy

We left Ketchum/Sun Valley behind us yesterday and headed north to Salmon. Our drive followed the Salmon River through gorgeous sweeping high prairie, surrounded by the jagged Sawtooth Mountains. Both of us commented that it finally felt like we were in Idaho!  Our faithful Ford F-150 ("Bessie") made it through Galena Pass (8,200+ feet) without a whimper. She made us proud.

Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho

In Salmon, we stayed at a wonderful RV park called Heald's Haven, run by (of course) Connie Heald. She and her husband moved here in 1969 and have nurtured a small little park, on the banks of the Salmon River. It's quiet,  with deer wandering through (there is one coming toward our window right now!)

Heald's Have RV Park (and Jack), Salmon, Idaho

We have some good hints from local folks as to where we might catch some fish, so we're off!

We forgot to put this photo on our last post, but thought it was so great, we wanted to share:

View from Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

After only 1,000 miles, we have finally left familiar territory, and are in Idaho.  We spent a couple of days in Boise, where it was really HOT!  Too hot to accomplish the afore-mentioned bike ride. We mostly just tried to stay cool, and got some "housekeeping" tasks done...which wasn't easy in the RV park we were staying in.

It was very clean, and well-kept, but way too much concrete and not nearly enough trees. We assume we will see others of this ilk as we travel. But we're not complaining, it's all part of the experience.

Now in Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho, we are surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers. Yesterday we took a long bike ride (there is a miles-long trail connecting the different communities), then explored Silver Creek, hoping to fish, but those little guys were were staying cool in the depths.

Silver Creek, Bellevue, Idaho

Today we got up early, and explored the Big Wood River, fishing at various places. We each caught one 12-14" feisty, beautiful rainbow trout (and a few little guys). We never keep them, because they are just too magnificent.

Jack coaxing a trout from under the bank on the Big Woods River, Idaho

Mandy, our anti-water hound, trying to keep her feet dry

So on to more adventures tomorrow!

Holding hands, shadow play

Stacy, July 11, 2013

BOISE, IDAHO

We rolled into Boise yesterday afternoon.

En route we stopped for an hour or so at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, a fantastic museum operated by the Dept. of Interior. Some of the best history either of us can remember, with impressive dioramas, films, and excerpts from diaries. The setting is also amazing, atop Emigrant Hill with sweeping panoramas of the beautiful Powder River Valley below. (I'll post pics next blog entry.)

Boise has a 20-some-mile-long riverfront greenbelt with bike trails and parks. As soon as our friends at Les Schwab get the "air bags" installed in the truck, we are throwing the bikes in the back and heading down there to explore.

We leave tomorrow for a few days in Sun Valley and a little fly fishing on the Big Woods River. Looking forward to getting out of the city and into the mountains where it should be a little cooler too!

LA GRANDE, OR

Today was a very short drive, only about 90 miles, which it turns out was a good thing. After our first 1,000 miles, we determined that truck-rated tires and some suspension reinforcement are essential for safe travel the rest of the trip. So we stopped in Pendleton where our friends at Les Schwab Tires installed some larger heavy duty tires, which made a HUGE improvement in handling. We also ordered "air bags" to beef up the suspension. We'll have those installed at the next Les Schwab along the route.

While in Pendleton we decided to take the historic "Pendleton Underground Tour", which was very, very cool. Below are a couple of pics that Stacy took.

Pendleton Underground - Chinese Sleeping Quarters

Pendleton Underground - Bar & Poker Room

We also drove by the the historic Hot Lake Springs hotel and spa, built in 1864 around a hot springs. The grounds were beautiful and it looks like a great place to stay. But they don't allow anyone who is not a guest of the hotel, so we couldn't even get through the gates.

Tonight we are overnighting in the Eagle Hot Lake RV Park a few miles outside of La Grande. A beautiful evening, made better by some cheese and crackers and a couple of Pacificos. It's a tough life.

The Eagle Hot Lake RV Park

Our next stop tomorrow is Boise where we'll spend a couple of days, have the "air bags" installed, then go on to Sun Valley!

Leavenworth / Grand Coulee Dam, Wash.

Leavenworth is a cute little Bavarian style town about 2 miles from our campsite.

Leavenworth downtown

Leavenworth RV Site

Riverside

Yesterday (Wed) we took a day trip about 120 miles north to visit the Grand Coulee Dam, the largest dam in North America. We took the free tour conducted by the Bureau of Reclamation. After a strict security screening and explanation of the amazing history of the dam's 30+ year construction, they took us down inside the dam to the pump room, and drove us across the top of the spillway. Very impressive. (We were surprised to learn that power generation was actually an afterthought; Grand Coulee's real purpose is to provide irrigation to the arid-yet-fertile land in the Columbia River Valley.)

Grand Coulee Dam

The pump room

Bike ride into town this morning, having dinner tonight with our Portland neighbor Sonia and her family at their vacation house not far from here. Then tomorrow, we head east again!

Finally a chance to catch up...

The adventure begins! We left home last Friday morning. Big party on Imperial Drive, as the neighbors were thrilled to get that damn trailer off the street! 

We drove to Fall City, WA, in the hills just east of Issaquah where Stacy's daughter Evan lives.  Great weather, great RV park. It was nice to finally get on the road, hang out with Evan, and just decompress a little.

The first RV park of our trip is the Blue Sky RV Park in Preston, WA, just west of Issaquah. We have the best spot in the whole park, but getting into it was a bear for two people with precious little experience driving, let alone BACKING an RV. It was UPHILL on the BLIND SIDE, but after a half hour or so we were in, with the rear of the RV actually hanging off the cliff. But what a great view out our rear window!

On Sunday, Stacy and Evan took the "Duck tour" (around Seattle, in and out of Lake Washington in an amphibious vehicle) while Jack did some work.

On Monday, we went to the Boeing Museum of Flight. Such a cool place! We went inside an actual space shuttle, President Kennedy's Air Force One...just so much amazing stuff. Hard to believe we've lived in Portland so long and have never been there.

Today we slept in, and drove to Leavenworth, WA (about 120 miles). VERY beautiful. The park, Icicle River RV Park, is next to Icicle River, which definitely lives up to its name. 100 degrees outside, and we took beach chairs to the rivers edge. But with water temp in the 40s, that's about as far as it went. 30 seconds after wading into the water, our feet were numb.

Sweet Mandy enjoyed the sun.

Tomorrow we are making a 100 mile day trip up to Grand Coulee Dam.